by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Humor is probably not the primary purpose of your presentation, but it can be a powerful tool for making points and grabbing audience attention. Recently, I chatted with humor expert John Cantu about how to make humor a part of your professional image. “Used wisely,” John told me, “humor can build a ‘brand image’ for you and your topic.” Here are five techniques John shared with me that you can use to create you own humor brand.

1. USE A SIGNATURE CATCH-PHRASE – Most people recognize the following phrases or slogans and automatically think of the creators when they hear:
“I don’t get no respect.”
“The Top Ten List”
“You might be a redneck if . . .”
“Where’s the beef?”

These phrases are “owned” by Rodney Dangerfield, David Letterman, and Jeff Foxworthy in that order. Come up with something memorable, and people will remember you every time they hear the words (Continue Reading…)

Some Hot Get-Ahead Tips for Speakers, Comedians, and anyone interested in Comedy History from John Cantu
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

John Cantu is a comedy legend and was producer at the famous Holy City Zoo in San Francisco from 1975 to 1981 and co-owner from 1979-1981. He told me how the comedy club got its name and how the philosophy of a young comic can help any of us achieve maximum success. Although these events happened many years ago they are part of the comedy history of the super stars of today. There are lessons for life and all performing. Hope you enjoy reading of my conversations with Cantu.

“The Holy City Zoo,” he told me, “is the only comedy club named for a municipal institution. Before the club opened, the owner saw a poster about a café bankruptcy sale in the Santa Cruz mountains. He followed the map to Holy City (Continue Reading…)

by Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, The Productivity PRO®

One of the benefits of my involvement over the years with the Meetings Industry Council (MIC), both locally and nationally, is that I frequently speak with meeting planners and association executives about partnering with speakers. They are very blunt and honest about what they like and don't like about working with us. NSA/Colorado has a segment in our monthly membership meetings called “MIC Moments,” in which we invite a member from one of our 10 counterparts in the MIC of Colorado to speak about speakers. I'd like to summarize what I consider to be 10 of the most important guidelines to remember when presenting:

1. Dress a step above. In my pre-program questionnaire, I ask about the dress for the participants, and then I dress one notch above that. Perception counts, and you want to look credible. People expect the speaker to get dressed (Continue Reading…)

Brad’s Dinner Table Rule

“How to know if your humor and comedy is crossing the line of propriety”
by Brad Montgomery, CSP

Synopsis: Brad Montgomery, comedian and motivational speaker, is often asked just how far comedians should push the envelope in their jokes and speeches. How clean should they be? Here, Brad outlines a little rule of thumb he uses to decide what is and isn't appropriate in a professional setting.

Perspective clients nearly always ask me if my show is clean. The answer is, “Crystal. Crystal Clean.” But the question is a good one… how far should we push the envelope? We agree that blue humor is a no no. But when do we tell R-rated joke? As a motivational speaker and corporate comedian, just where can you draw the line at what is too edgy? For years I've answered the question about how determine what's kosher or not in my material. My (Continue Reading…)

What American Idol has to teach professional speakers and entertainers:
Or: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Fantasia and Ruben

By Brad Montgomery, CSP

While the lessons that Fox network has to offer us may be few and far between, I think there is something to be said for what American Idol can teach us. Not surprisingly, this lesson was not stressed in the classroom, but is still vital to successful motivational speakers. This season, I watched as the long lines of seventy thousand kids were slowly trimmed down to the top thirty-two people all dripping with talent, but still, there could only be one winner. With so much talent, how could one be singled-out? It all came down to individual personality as it does with motivational speakers.

The top thirty-two all had tons of talent and could succeed in a bar act any day, but most still left us cold. Why? (Continue Reading…)

6 Principles for Powerful Presenting

by Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE

It isn’t enough to have a message. It must be YOUR message. What is it about your topic that is important to you? That is where your uniqueness lies. Don’t give books reports. Bring your unique perspective to the audience. When you discover your message, you also release your passion.

The best advice on speaking I ever got was over 20 years ago from David Johnson, then an Ohio legislator. He told me that every audience wants to be entertained. I have found that education is usually best delivered on the wings of entertainment.

At the beginning of every speech, your primary challenge is to break preoccupation. Each audience member is preoccupied with their own thoughts and concerns. A powerful, attention-grabbing beginning is critical.

People don’t remember your points, they remember your illustrations. If they can remember the story, then they will be able to (Continue Reading…)

Find places to practice your humor.

We all need a good place to test new material, to try out new techniques. A place where it is OK if the humor does not work. A place to smooth out your stories and massage your punchlines. A place to stimulate your creativity. A place where you are not presenting to your number one client or a group paying top dollar for a speech. Here are some ideas:

-A Toastmasters club! You have heard it before. There is probably no better place. And once you have joined a club, commit to entering every contest. It is not about winning. It is about growth.

– An improv troupe is a terrific place to jump-start your creativity and sharpen your stage presence.

– Open Mike Night at your local comedy club. (Continue Reading…)

Touch Your Audience with Stories
Listeners will remember the drama and the humor, and chances are good they’ll remember your point as well.

It was stormy and almost midnight. On an isolated country road in Missouri, my truck plowed into a section of flash flooding. Water shot up on the right and left and over the hood. The engine died. And it wouldn’t start. All I could see was water in every direction and tree branches floating in front of the truck. There would be no traffic until sunrise…

This is a true story. It happened to me. It has become an eight-minute vignette with lessons learned and several laugh lines along the way.

Stories grab your audience. Listeners will remember the drama and the humor, and chances are good they’ll remember your point as well.

But what comes first_the story or the point? Personally, I never start with a point and then look for (Continue Reading…)

A great vehicle for developing your ability to effectively use humor.

I was the 2003 humor champion for District 33 Toastmasters. A typical district in Toastmasters may have 3000 members. I’ve won the first-place district humor trophy four times. Here are some insights on how I have made my trip to the district finals. These ideas can also apply anytime you are developing a piece of humorous material for any type of presentation.

-Before the 2003 contest, I planted a seed 27 months earlier. Something happened in my life that I thought was a good target for building a humorous speech. So I planted the idea in my head. And for two years I “slept on it” and massaged my ideas. Jotting ideas on slips of paper, I dropped them into a file folder marked for this speech.


-Often, when I (Continue Reading…)

Or
GETTING OFF ON THE LEFT FOOT!
by Patt Schwab, Ph.D.

I gave my first key note address in Butte, Montana At the time, I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I hadn’t been speaking that long and yet this group saw my incredible talent and saw fit to have me keynote their convention! That was how I felt until the introducer literally said:

“You all heard how wonderful ‘Joe Blow’ was at the national convention, well, we tried to get him here but he was busy so someone told us about Patt (is it Schab? Schwap?) and not only didn’t she have anything to do tonight, but she was lots cheaper – in fact she’s the reason we were able to upgrade the dinner from turkey noodle bake to Chateaubriand. So let’s hear it for Patt!”

One of the most significant things I learned my first year as a full-time professional speaker is the (Continue Reading…)